What is rasam?
For those not familiar with this magical soupy curry, let me give you a brief introduction. Rasam is a gluten-free, purely vegetarian South Indian style soup cum curry prepared with vegetables or lentils. The consistency of rasam is watery or very thin. It is served with steamed rice and other main-course dishes such as fish fry, Chettinad chicken masala, or as an appetizer just like a bowl of soup. A piping hot rasam is an excellent home remedy for cold, cough, or a bad throat, plus it aids indigestion. Along with its deliciousness, it has tons of ayurvedic health benefits. Reasons To LOVE Rasam home remedy for cold, cough, and flu gluten-free and vegan plant-based curry aids in digestion one-pot recipe
About My Rasam Recipe
The whole tomato rasam-making affair, from peeling garlic, grinding rasam masala to finally mopping the curry with hot steamed rice, is a delectable experience, which I always savor.
Whether it is a cold, harsh evening, a rainy day, or a bad throat, there is nothing my steaming bowl of garlic rasam cannot fix.
This rasam recipe was humbly penned down by the house-help with many traditional South Indian recipes as a parting gift while leaving Bangalore, Karnataka.
She had no accurate measure of the ingredients for the rasam recipe. Someday she will add more garlic while, on some occasions, a fistful of chopped fresh coriander leaves.
But each time, her tomato garlic rasam had different flavor profiles equally delectable than the previous one.
Rasam Powder
There is no finger-licking good rasam possible without rasam powder. Either you can use the store-bought rasam masala powder or follow my secret homemade rasam powder recipe to make your own batch. My rasam masala has lentils (dals), whole spices, red chilies, and asafoetida. All these ingredients take tomato rasam to another level of deliciousness.
Step-By-Step Rasam Recipe
Heat ghee or any vegan cooking oil in a heavy bottom kadhai. Add mustard seeds, red chili, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Fry for 10 – 20 seconds or till the seeds start spluttering (image 1). Add chopped tomato, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, and cook for 3 – 5 minutes or till tomatoes turn mushy ( image 2). Combine garlic cloves, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, and coriander stalks in a blender. Grind to a coarse powder. Do not use water to make a smooth paste (image 3) Add fresh garlic paste prepared earlier. Stir to combine and cook for a minute (image 4). Add 4 cups of water and rasam masala powder. Stir, and gently mash the tomato using the back of the ladle. At this stage, taste and adjust the seasoning as per personal preference (image 5). Let the rasam simmer over low heat for the next 15 – 20 minutes. Keep stirring at regular intervals. So not cook it for too long. Garnish with loads of chopped fresh coriander.
Serving Suggestions
In South India, a rasam is served two ways – one, as an appetizing digestive drink before the meal. Or as a spicy vegetarian curry with cooked rice. At times, rasam is served in a tumbler along with other main-course dishes to sip in-between meals. I like to enjoy it with white rice, a dollop of ghee on top, some fried poppadums, and masala potato fry on the side.
More South Indian Recipes
Curd Rice Masala Potato Fry South Indian Vada Curry Chettinad Prawn Masala Lemon Rice (Elumichai Sadam) Subscribe to our weekly newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Youtube for video recipes.
